Inked ribbon package



Oct. 6, 1964 F. c. WENDT 3,151,723

' INKED RIBBON PACKAGE Filed Feb. 5, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FREDERICK vuo'r l6 03kg ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1964 F. c. WENDT INKED RIBBON PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iNVENTOR FREDERICK C. WENDT S78, BY ,6: ATTORNEYS Filed Feb. 5, 1962 United States Patent 3,151,723 INKED RIBBON PACKAGE Frederick C. Wendt, Farmington, Conn, assignor to Royal MeBee Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 171,203 4 Claims. (Cl. 197-151) This invention relates to an improved inked ribbon package for a typewriter or other types of printing machines.

Ribbon packages of this nature have been in substantial commercial use for some time and are presently available in various forms. All packages of which I am aware have the common and highly desirable characteristic of permitting installation of the ribbon in or removal thereof from the machine without the necessity of the operators fingers touching the inked ribbon. There are, however, certain disadvantages inherent in these packages. In one form, it is necessary to install those portions of the package, i.e the containers in which the spools are disposed, in the machine when the ribbon spools are mounted on their respective spindles or drive shafts thus, in effect becoming a part of the machine. The containers must be contoured to fit in the permanent spool cups in the machine and thus increase the cost of the package. Also, because of liberal tolerances in the spool drive shaft bearings, it occasionally happens that a spool flange may lose its concentricity with respect to the spool container resulting in the edge of the flange rubbing against the adjacent container wall with suificient force to cause the spool to bind and thus cause premature operation of the ribbon reversing mechanism in the machine. A package or cartridge of this nature is shown in US. patent to Lambert 2,825,450.

In another form of cartridge, a pair of standard spools are co-axially disposed in separable cup-like containers with a portion of the ribbon extending through the container walls to form a loop. The installing operation is effected by first dropping the loop over the ribbon vibrator arms and then separating the containers. In this condition the spools lie in open cups wherein they are retained by pressing the cup walls inwardly against the spool flanges. With the spools so retained they may be moved to position for mounting on the spool drive shafts by releasing the pressure on the cup walls. The great disadvantage inherent in this form of package lies in the result of premature release of pressure on either or both of the cup walls. As the cups must be held with their open ends down, any such premature pressure release permits the spool to drop out of its cup onto the floor or elsewhere with obvious results. A cartridge of this nature is shown in US. patent to Holden, 2,999,578.

In the use of either two forms of cartridge referred to above, it is customary, when the spool containers are separated to form a loop to be dropped over the vibrator arms. While it is not particularly difficult to form such a loop, maintaining it is another matter as the ribbon is quite limp so that the loop tends to sag, making it difl'icult to thread the vibrator arms through it.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide a ribbon package or cartridge that overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages in a thoroughly practical, efficient and economic manner. Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawing wherein I have shown two embodiments of my invention and wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of one form the ribbon package with the top open;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the package illustrative of its condition just before the ribbon is installed on the typewriter ribbon vibrator;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary isometric rear view of the upper left corner of the package as shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an isometric view of the package illustrative of its condition at the time of ribbon installation on the ribbon vibrator;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of another form of my ribbon package, portions thereof being broken away and shown in section;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 of this form of the package; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary isometric view of the package in open condition.

With reference to FIGURE 1, the package is generally indicated at 14 and includes a box or container generally indicated at 11, a pair of ribbon spools A and B preferably disposed therein and a removable top 12 therefor.

Spools A and B may be of any well known type and have respectively attached thereto the ends of an inked ribbon R which is preferably partially wound on each of the spools when the package is assembled. Box 11 and top 12 may be made of any suitable non-absorbent material such as coated cardboard or a plastic.

Box 11 includes a bottom 13, a pair of side walls 14 and 15 and end Walls 16 and 17. If desired, the box may be provided with a center partition 18 which divides the box into two spool compartments 19 and 20 for the reception of spools A and B respectively. Where the spools are loosely disposed in 11, partition 18 usefully prevents interengagement of the spool with possible resultant damage thereto during handling and shipping.

Wall 16 is foreshortened as at its edge 1611, which edge together with the end 14a of side wall 14 forms a gap G. Gap G provides an entrance or opening for a well W which is formed interiorly of compartment 19 by a partition 21 suitably secured to or integral with box bottom 13. One end 21a of this partition is suitably secured to or integral with wall 14 at a point short of its end 14a, the other end 2117 of the partition being separably attached in any suitable manner to the end 16a of wall 16. Well W is of suflicient width and depth to receive the vibrator arms and associated parts of a typewriter when the ribbon is being installed as will be pointed out in greater detail hereinafter.

Bottom 13 of box 11 is scored or otherwise weakened along the line 13a as is wall 16 at the point of its attachment to partition 21. Wall 15 is similarly scored or weakened along a vertical line 22. Thus the entire upper right hand corner of box 11, as viewed in FIGURE 1, comprising a portion of bottom 13, wall 16 and the upper portion of wall 15 may be bent or broken away from the rest of box 11. In either event the edge of end 21b of well partition 21 is exposed to provide one abutment or support for ribbon R during its installation, wall end 14a atfording another support for the ribbon, all as will be more fully described below. It should be noted, with reference to FIGURE 3, that wall end 14a is provided with a notch 14c while partition end 21!) has a notch 21c, these two notches being slightly wider than ribbon R and comprising a guide and support for the ribbon during its installation back of the vibrator arms, all as will be given a more detailed description hereinbelow.

It will now appear that box 11 as constituted by its several component parts provides a simple, inexpensive and relatively rugged container for the ribbon spools and, as will now be described comprises an applicator for quickly installing the inked ribbon on the vibrator mechanism without the operators fingers touching the ribbon.

When it is desired to install the inked ribbon, top 12 is removed to expose the inside of box 11 and permit access to box corner 19 (FIGURE 2). The box corner quick and stainless manner.

vwith bottom 34 is provided adjacent the recess.

e is then broken away from the box along lines 16a and 22 and either bent or preferably broken away from box bottom 13 along line 13a, in either event exposing the edge of partition end 2117. With the box in this condition the operator grasps the bottom of the box and the top of spool B between thumb and fingers of the right hand and, with his left hand, removes spool A from the box to the position shown. In so doing he trains ribbon R over the well opening G into notches 21c and 140 and against partition and wall ends 21a and 14a respectively, thus spanning gap G which forms the opening to Well W. With both spools thus grasped a loop is formed comprising runs Ra, Rb and end Rc, these three portions of the loop being in a taut condition that permits quick and easy installation.

With spools A and B so held and the loop so formed, box 11 becomes, in effect, an applicator for placing the ribbon loop over the vibrator arms V as shown in FIG- URE 4. Thusthe operator moves box 11 and the loop toward and over the vibrator arms and then lowers it so as to insert the ribbon behind the arms with the loop runs or sides Ra and Rb extending through the vibrator eyes Va and Vb. During this operation, vibrator arms V extend into well W which is of sufiicient depth to accommodate the arms. Furthermore, this operation is easily and quickly efiected because the looped ribbon is in taut condition rather than the limp drooping condition which characterizes the loop in the use of the above mentioned patented packages and because the ribbon is supported against vertical movement relative to the box by virtue of its disposition in notches 21c and 14c (FIGURE 3).

With the ribbon loop so installed, the operator next places spool A on its drive shaft 24 in spool cup 25.

He then removes spool B from box 11 in any convenient manner and mounts it on its drive shaft 26 in spool cup 27. The ribbon is thus completely installed in a The box or applicator can be discarded or reloaded and reused as desired.

In the form shown in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 the package is generally indicated at 30 and comprises a box 31 which slidably receives and contains a spool holder and ribbon applicator generally indicated at 32. Box 31 is preferably of the conventional end opening type and is accordingly provided with the usual closing flaps 33 (FIGURE 7).

Applicator 32, which may be a stamping, molding or formed from cardboard or other suitable material, includes a bottom 34, a side wall 35 and an end wall. The inner end of bottom 34 is cut away to form a recess 37 and an upwardly projecting wall or partition 38 integral Wall 38 and the inner end 35a of wall 35 thus form a well W which is identical in purpose to well W in box 11 (FIGURE 1). The ends of walls 35 and 38 are provided with notches (not shown) which are similar in form and in purpose to notches 14c and 210 (FIGURE 3).

As shown in FIGURE 6, applicator bottom 34 preferably and conveniently is trapezoidal in form thus having an angled edge 34a extending from wall 38 to side 34b of bottom 34 which, in effect, provides a cut-out at the inner right hand corner of the applicator which permits ready and easy access to spool A (see FIGURE 5) after the applicator 32 has been completely withdrawn from its box 31. If desired, a pair of posts 39 and 40 projecting from bottom 34 may be provided to receive and hold spools A and B in place on the applicator.

It may now be seen that after the applicator has been removed from its box, spool A may be removed from its FIGURE 5 position to that shown in FIGURE 6 in the same manner as that described in connection with box 11 (FIGURE 2) so that ribbon R tautly spans the gap G at the entrance to well W7. Thereafter the ribbon is applied to the vibrator V (FIGURE 4) in exactly the same manner as hereinabove described.

It will now appear that I have provided an inked ribbon package for a typewriter or the like that attains the objects set forth above in a thoroughly practical, eflicient and economical manner.

The foregoing is, of course, to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An inked ribbon package for installing a ribbon on the vibrator arms of a typewriter without finger-touching the ribbon, in combination,

a disposable container for releasably retaining a pair of ribbon spools, each having a portion or ribbon wound thereon and lying adjacent one another with their axes parallel,

means at one end of said container forming a well the sides of which lie in parallel planes parallel to the vertical plane passing through the axes of said spools, said well sides defining a gap whose Width is in excess of that of said vibrator arms, and

means forming a displaceable corner on said container at the end thereof opposite said well thereby to permit ready access to one of said spools for manual removal thereof without touching the inked ribbon wound thereon so that the ribbon may be trained across the well sides and tautened thereover to form a loop which may be installed in the vibrator arms.

. 2. A package according to claim 1 including means forming a partition in said container to divide said container into two compartments for respectively receiving said spools.

3. A package according to claim 1 wherein the outer ends of said well sides are each provided with a guide notch slightly wider than the ribbon trained across said gap.

4. A package according to claim 1 wherein said container is open on one side and removable means to close said open side.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 765,157 Alexander July 19, 1904 1,686,650 Chanier Oct. 9, 1928 1,691,414 Thorton Nov. 13, 1928 1,927,667 Miller Sept. 18, 1933 2,051,206 Fairbanks Aug. 18, 1936 2,595,375 Weirich et al May 6, 1952 2,873,015 Gray Feb. 10, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,064,457 France Dec. 23, 1953 

1. AN INKED RIBBON PACKAGE FOR INSTALLING A RIBBON ON THE VIBRATOR ARMS OF A TYPEWRITER WITHOUT FINGER-TOUCHING THE RIBBON, IN COMBINATION, A DISPOSABLE CONTAINER FOR RELEASABLY RETAINING A PAIR OF RIBBON SPOOLS, EACH HAVING A PORTION OF RIBBON WOUND THEREON AND LYING ADJACENT ONE ANOTHER WITH THEIR AXES PARALLEL, MEANS AT ONE END OF SAID CONTAINER FORMING A WELL THE SIDES OF WHICH LIE IN PARALLEL PLANES PARALLEL TO THE VERTICAL PLANE PASSING THROUGH THE AXES OF SAID SPOOLS, SAID WELL SIDES DEFINING A GAP WHOSE WIDTH IS IN EXCESS OF THAT OF SAID VIBRATOR ARMS, AND 